Seattle's transit system struggles as riders refuse to pay | Hacker News Reader

Seattle's transit system struggles as riders refuse to pay

foxnews.com

23 pointsmhb10 comments

> Fox News

NY Post was quick to jump on this story too. "Social Justice" is the boogeyman again (in the video). A blogger that pasted this article was more transparent in their narrative, "Get woke, go broke."

No source for the "70%" figure. The "ridership overall is down because COVID" is buried at the end.

Better source here: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/sou...

San Diego’s trolley is the same way - weak fare enforcement. The end result is people carrying on their carts full of recycling and pushing off other riders back into their cars. The trolley itself and the routes seem well intentioned and well planned. The carriages seem modern and otherwise comfortable. Many apartment buildings have been put up by the stations. Why couldn’t they just spend a little more for validated entry to keep the system working as it was designed?

The honor system isn't the problem, it's the total lack of any effective enforcement of it.

In other cities (and countries) you can be fined and/or detained for skipping your fare; in Seattle (according to the article at least) the situation seems to be more "pay your fare or I will chastise you a second time."

In Seattle you are fined $50 the third time, $75 the fourth, $124 after that.

> according to the article

Yep, they never mention it. Odd omission eh?

Public transit should be taxpayer funded and free at point of entry.

This is the solution! Montpellier (France) identified this as an opportunity, made it free for the under 18 and over 65, weekend free for all city residents, and with the plan to make it free for all by 2023. And the public transportation in Montpellier is amazing - trams and buses (regular and on demand!).

No it shouldn't. It costs money to operate a transit system, and the users should pay for it. Keeping out vagrants, some of whom are dangerous, is another benefit of fare collection.

I would think about this deep and hard on a tax day were I living in Seattle.

As a property-owner within the Sound Transit regional taxation district, I am far happier to pay for public transportation than many of the other things my tax dollars get used for. I don't particularly care whether Link rail riders pay their fares or not. More people riding Link means fewer people driving, and that's good for everyone.

There's no income tax in Seattle.

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